Chapter Nine

Soaked to the skin, Meadow was overtaken by violent shivers. The rain continued to slant sideways as she scoured the area for the heifer.
No way it could have run down the slope without her seeing it, which left only one answer—it was in the thick trees with the hungry coyote…or it made it out the other side to the swamp.
Of course Meadow wasn’t dressed for rain, a ten-degree temperature drop or the storm slamming into her and her horse. She always carried a blanket in her saddlebag, but she didn’t want to take the time to stop and retrieve it either.
She had to find that heifer. If she was one of the pregnant ones, she was worth so much more to the ranch. Determination had her gripping the reins and searching for long hours.
Picking her way through the trees was slow, wet going. The spindly trunks couldn’t support heavy canopies with thick leaves to offer sufficient shelter from the drenching rain. She spoke softly to her horse between listening hard for the howl of the coyote, but the animal seemed to have run off.
Her shirt clung to her. Her nipples were hard pebbles from the chill, and goose bumps coated her arms and back. Still, she pushed on, driven to do some good after all the stupid mistakes she’d made over the years.
After what felt like another hour passed, she exited the patch of woods and swept her gaze over the land.
This was the only portion of the ranch that went unutilized. With so many natural springs popping up, it was too wet to be used for pasture or even hay. Few people ever came up here without good reason. Meadow had very good reason.
And she was smart to persevere in her search—the heifer was standing not ten feet away, sunk ankle-deep in the mud.
With a soft cry, Meadow started forward before realizing her mare would get just as bogged down if Meadow led her in there. She had to think fast. A glance at the sky showed her it was dark with another impending wave of the storm.
Now that she was close to the heifer, she saw the sizable bulge of its abdomen, proof that it was pregnant and likely losing stamina fast between the weather and her fear.
Did it even have any energy to get out of the mud if Meadow helped it along?
She got off her horse and unbuckled her saddlebag. She got out the blanket and slung it around her shoulders to stave off her shivers while she rooted in the depths for a length of rope.
Gripping the blanket beneath her chin, she hunched her shoulders as another gust of wind smacked her straight in the face. Her soaked hat stuck to her head. Even her eyelashes were wet, causing her to blink several times to focus on the scene before her.
She needed to find a way to free the heifer from the mud. Then if she could get a rope around her neck, she could lead her back to the ranch.
From behind came a low noise carried on the wind, making her go still. Was the coyote back? Would it be hungry enough to attack her? They weren’t known to attack humans, but anything was possible in the wild.
Then came another call, longer this time. It sounded like syllables.
A name.
“Mea-dow!”
Her heart slammed into her ribs, and she whipped around just in time to see a rider break through the trees. Her gaze landed on the face of the man, and her heart lifted again—this time with hope.
Colton had come for her.
The strain on his rugged features didn’t lessen one single bit as he fixed his stare on her. In the saddle he looked huge, and imposing as hell in a black drover coat. The horse’s packs were stuffed to bulging, and she knew he’d come prepared for anything when he set out in search of her.
Or maybe he’d only come for the heifer. She was probably worth more in his eyes.
His gaze washed over her as if making sure she was really safe. Then he swung his leg off his horse and landed on the ground next to her. “What the hell, Meadow?”
In the face of his rebuke, anything she was about to say—any thanks she might have given him—died on her lips.
He was just going to be an ass to her when she was trying to do the right thing this time.
He assessed the situation. “We have to rope the cow and get it out of the mud.”
She bristled, swiping a soaked tendril of hair off her neck. “No shit. What do you think I was about to do?”
“You’ll never manage on your own. It’s going to take both of us to get her out. Our horses too.” He looked up at the sky. A bolt of jagged lightning cut through the blackened atmosphere.
“Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”
He gave her a sharp glance as though she surprised him. Since she typically gave him some lip service, the man probably was surprised.
“How long is the rope in your hand?”
She held up the length. Judging by the glare he gave her, she wouldn’t be shocked if he used it to tie her to a tree and leave her out here. While she much preferred his spanking or even the dirty looks he gave her, she probably couldn’t stop him if he did.
He shook his head. “Not long enough.” The wind was howling now, forcing Colton to raise his voice over the din.
In another few minutes, they’d be in the middle of the violent storm, and chances were the cow wouldn’t survive it.
The distant mountains were blacker angles against the black sky. The air smelled of ozone.
She tried to yell out to Colton, to tell him that they couldn’t go back through the trees the way they came. The best route was to the right of the swamp. They could hit a pass and travel faster that way.
When the scream of the wind snatched the words out of her mouth, she moved close to Colton and gripped him by the arm. Leaning in, she yelled it again. He heard this time and looked to the east, nodding.
Then to her surprise, he cupped her face in his big palm and turned her ear to his mouth. Words filtered into her head—and warmed her too.
“I’m going to rope the cow. Then we’ll attach the rope to my horse and try to pull it out.”
Wishing she could curl up against him and share his heat, she could only nod stupidly in return. Standing back to allow him room to swing the longer rope he had with him, she watched him attempt to lasso the cow.
Twice the loop fell limp to the mucky earth. The third time, it just skimmed the cow’s head before it fell.
“Do you even know how to use a rope?” she yelled into the fury of the wind.
He leveled her in a dark look and threw it three more tries.
Exasperated, Meadow took the rope out of his hands. “Give that to me before I die of hypothermia out here along with that cow!”
With the rookie cowboy looking on, she formed a lasso, swung her arm in the perfect motion—and nailed the cow in a perfect toss.
When she turned to Colton, her head tilted to meet his gaze, she saw the glimmer of respect in his eyes.
Finally.
But as sure as she knew they were about to be caught in the worst storm of the decade, she knew the respect she saw in his eyes wasn’t going to last.

The heifer made her slow, ambling way through the pounding rain behind Meadow’s horse, attached by a long rope. With Colton taking up the rear, he had a direct view of her steeled spine.
So when she started to lean in her saddle and sway too much to one side, panic hit.
She was about to fall off.
“Stop!”
At his call, she at least had enough of her wits to bring the line to a halt. But by the time he dismounted and walked up to her, he saw why she was slanting in her saddle.
She was bone white, her lips blue from the cold. Her fingers had morphed into claws barely able to hold the reins.
“Goddammit. Why didn’t you tell me you couldn’t ride?” He reached up for her, and she slid slowly off into his arms.
He gathered her close. Christ, she was frozen to the bone. In his effort not to pay so much attention to her, he’d almost killed her.
Looking around the bleak landscape, he scanned the region. Lightning flashed, illuminating a few tall shrubs. With any luck, they might offer a windbreak from the raging storm. It never seemed to let up, howling and gusting with high winds that bent the trees.
He carried her to the shrubs and set her on the soggy earth. Then he took off his own coat, heavy and waterproof. Even though it was dark with rain, it was far better than the soaking wet blanket she had slung around her narrow shoulders. God, he could kick himself for failing her this way.
“I don’t want your coat—take it back. You’ll freeze!” Her lips hardly seemed to move when she spoke.
He shook his head, stripped the blanket off her and draped his coat around her instead.
“Oh god,” she murmured, huddling into the fabric that probably still held enough of his body heat to keep her alive.
But for how long? He’d never seen anything like this weather. Between the booms of thunder making the animals skittish and the cracks of lightning that could strike them dead in an instant, it was right up there with an air raid. For the past hour, he’d been on edge, clinging to his sanity while trying not to think about how Forest met his end.
He needed to make Meadow a shelter to weather the storm. At the slow pace they were going, they were never going to find that shortcut pass.
They had to settle in and make camp to stay alive.
“Stay right there,” he told her.
She blinked at him but said nothing. Another bad sign. He struck off into the darkness. The rain caused poor visibility. It was unlikely he’d actually find a place for them to shelter, but he had to try.
In seconds, he was drenched. Rivulets of icy water ran off his hat onto his shoulders. Meadow must be feeling a hundred times worse. She’d been wet for hours now.
He had to find a spot—anyplace to create a lean-to. Two trees would do for stretching the thin tarp he had rolled up in one of the packs.
He was just thinking that they’d have to make do with sitting close together with the tarp tossed over their heads, when he spotted a hump of rock jutting up from the landscape.
He moved swiftly to it for closer inspection. When he saw the dark opening and a few trees sprouting up around it, he fist-punched the air.
This was exactly what they needed to get them through a night in the elements. Whipping around, he ran the entire way to Meadow’s side. She hunched forward, her head bowed.
The sight made his heart pinch sharply.
She looked up into his eyes, and a throbbing heartbeat stretched between them.
He would take care of her, but he would not let her get to him.
He took her by the upper arm and lifted her to her feet. She staggered slightly—her feet were probably just as frozen as the rest of her—and he held her steady.
“There’s a cave. We can shelter there, and I’ll make a place for the animals. Can you lead my horse?”
She nodded. He peered at her closer. Her silence worried him.
Taking hold of her horse’s reins, he guided it with the cow it was attached to toward the site he had already mentally set up as their camp.
Every few steps, he threw a look over his shoulder to make sure Meadow was still back there—and on her feet. Assured that she was, he led the ragtag party to the spot.
When she saw the cave, her expression didn’t change, which caused him even more worry.
He let go of the horse’s rope and hurried to Meadow. “Come on. Let’s get you out of the rain.”
She refused to budge. “I’m not going in there.”
He stared at her. Rain sluiced over both of them. “Why not? Are there wolves or bears?”
“Probably. I’m more worried about rattlesnakes.”
“Damn. I need to get something out of my coat pocket.”
She looked up at him, her eyes luminous with an emotion he couldn’t read.
Making a slow move, he reached for the coat she wore. She let him peel open the front. When he reached into the inside pocket, he felt her shudder.
At least she was reacting to something, even if it was the wrong thing.
He pulled his phone out. Somehow, it had remained safe and dry in that pocket. Using the light, he aimed it at every corner of the cave, looking for snakes or any other unwelcome inhabitants.
Satisfied that it was all clear, he waved Meadow forward. She moved as slow as an old lady.
“Sit here. Stick your hands under your arms or between your legs to stay warm.” His instruction made her lift her eyes to his.
Their gazes held.
Then he twisted away and went back out into the pouring rain to save the animals from the brutal storm.
Lightning streaked through the sky. Occasionally, it landed a target and he’d hear the faint cracking noise of a tree falling. As long as it didn’t strike the trees he was using as supports for the tarp, they were fine.
Pulling out a rope, he lashed the tarp to the tree and led the horses and cow beneath it. Seeing that the cow wasn’t willing to stay put, he tethered her to the tree too.
Since there was nothing dry within a fifty-mile radius, there was nothing to burn and would be no fire tonight.
He found a slightly damp blanket in his saddlebag and used it to wipe down the backs of all three animals. It would have to be enough for now.
When he returned to the cave, he found Meadow…taking off her clothes.